CALGARY — The federal government quietly drafted a new citizenship guide telling newcomers Canada should be viewed through the lens of a “shameful” history tied to slavery, according to internal records.Documents obtained by Blacklock's Reporter show the office of Immigration Minister Lena Diab prepared a revised study guide urging prospective citizens to reflect on what it describes as Canada’s troubled past and ongoing systemic racism.The draft guide, titled Being Canadian: A Guide To Citizenship, states: “Every year on August 1 Canada recognizes Emancipation Day as a way to remember this shameful part of Canada’s past.” It adds the document aims to present Canada as “a multicultural and diverse country while addressing serious injustices that occurred in the past and challenges that remain today including systemic racism.”The guide claims slavery existed in Canada for more than 200 years and describes enslaved people as having been treated “as less than human.” It states many enslaved individuals were initially indigenous and later increasingly of African descent, while also acknowledging the total number brought to Canada is not known.Historical records cited in the same documents note no Canadian Parliament ever legalized slavery and no Father of Confederation was a slaveholder. .New data shows majority of black Canadians are recent immigrants, not descendants of slavery.Slavery was restricted by the Upper Canada Assembly in 1793 and later abolished across British colonies under an 1834 Act of the British Parliament.The draft guide also emphasizes modern Canada remains shaped by racism. “Racism is still a part of Canadian institutions and people and continues to impact indigenous people, black people and other minority groups,” it states.It defines systemic racism as embedded in “institutions, laws and policies” and says eliminating it is “everyone’s responsibility.”Statistics included in the records point to demographic changes in Canada’s black population.According to a 2024 Statistics Canada report, 59% of black Canadians were born outside the country, with most arriving after 1971.The proposed guide would replace the 2012 citizenship study manual Discover Canada: The Rights And Responsibilities Of Citizenship, which presented a different historical narrative.That earlier guide highlighted Canada as a destination for thousands of enslaved people fleeing the United States via the Underground Railroad and framed abolition as part of a broader global movement originating in the British Parliament.It also referenced black Loyalists who migrated north after the American War of Independence, noting approximately 3,000 settled in Canada seeking better conditions. Some later relocated to Sierra Leone in 1792 after facing hardship in Nova Scotia.The 2012 guide further recognized contributions of black Canadians, including William Hall, a Nova Scotian who became the first black recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions during the 1857 Siege of Lucknow.Records do not indicate when or if the revised citizenship guide will be formally adopted.
